if you spoke with my friend for 5 minutes , ( he had a new one ) he would help you.

Fortunately he owns a coach company so had access to a low loader at will. Within the first 50 miles on its maiden drive , the exhaust fell off , the alarm packed up and then the electrics failed in total.
This was to be the way this car performed for the rest of his ownership.
He ended up losing a lot of money , and was the constant butt of jokes from his 3 brothers.
I was considering purchasing a TVR , and he was horrified at the thought and talked me away from ever considering one .
Guess how they cured a leaking boot .............................. drilled holes in the floor , yup , a brand new car .

 

this is what is preventing me from taking the plunge....the nagging doubt about reliablity....having said that I assume it's just a case of finding a good one through a specialist

 

Round Keevil, we were quicker than the Chims.
In astraight line they should have the advantage. Comparing the S2000 and the Chim is a bit pointless as they're very different beasts.
If you want a really quick second hand Tiv, go for a Cerbera, but as with any TVR, reliability is always a worry and cost of maintenance may put some owners of older cars off, which means you have to be very careful buying a 'cheap' car.
Personally I'd love one though.....

 

Having tseen the results my mate gets with his Cerb I would never own a TVR until the reliability was dramatically improved.

Aesthetics though = gotta love 'em

 

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the S2000 did against the other cars that attended the airfield day

Chim and S2000 are like chalk and cheese.....it's the sounds/engine of the TVR that appeals...the looks are 'ok' but nothing special...certainly not compared with the S2000

 

In the purely unscientific tests I did against the Tivs at Keevil, only the Tuscan was quicker, but only then on the straights, where it felt like I'd engaged reverse, What we lose on power and torque, we make up for in roadholding and handling (bit like the Elise vs S2000 discussion going on elsewhere)

What you really want is one of these Paul:-

At Bedford, everything was fair game, an awesome car (there are a few road conversions about for sale every now and again too, last one I saw was

 

that would scare me........

 

Hello Zero.

I was seriously considering one 4.5ltr Chim prior to making one of my better dicisions and getting the S instead. I think that just about everyone who gets close to the car is seduced by the TVR in most of her guises. However as most people are generally suggesting aesthetics are one thing but reliability is another and unless you get a good'un you stand high chance of getting an average car which by todays standards just isn't acceptable when it comes to the reliability department.

As with every car you get bad eggs, some TVR owners report of having years of trouble free motoring, others are on the Pistonhead site most of their lives with one fault after another. It was through the above site that I eventually gave up on the TVR as the threads there scared the sh*t out of me!

I too would one day like to own one but I would save and get a better example either new or close to new with TVR warranty-it's gotta be the safest option!

Let us know what you do.

Jcp.

 

Pistonheads indeed does put me off....maybe TVR should sue them????

 

Zero,

Check out the servicing costs as well. I was looking at buying a 4.2 Cerbera and it needed a service every 6k and cost the best part of